Puppy love

Bridget has a boyfriend . . . .

And it ain’t Spike!

Here’s how it all went down . . .

First I notice Bridget prancing more than usual whenever we arrive at Dale’s camp. Hmm . . . What’s that all about? She dances around Dale’s legs until he bends down and acknowledges her presence with some sweet talk and petting (not heavy). While this goes on, Spike has his nose in Dale’s food supply, so he’s clueless.

When we all board the Perfect Tow Vehicle to ride into Yuma, Bridget makes her move.

She wiggles her ample behind into the passenger seat with Dale!

He puts his arm around her. She kisses his hand!

One time, while driving, I look over and there she is, out of the seat belt and draped across Dale’s leg, dreamy-eyed.

Uh-oh.This is getting out of hand.

I glance back at Spike on the bench seat. Asleep. The poor guy is oblivious to what is going on right under his nose.

“Bridget, are you in love?” I ask.

She gives me the so-what-if-I-am-look and leans on Dale some more. Well, girl, you’re headed for a fall because Dale is leaving soon and you better not expect him to call or write . . . .

In other news . . .

I look out the side window of the Best Little Trailer to see a white SUV towing a Casita parked in the road. That must be Kathy and Gil! (Kathy comments on this blog as “kgdan.”)

Kathy recently wrote that they’d be coming over to Mittry Lake from the Phoenix area and that Gil is anxious to put the Port-a-Bote in the water to do some fishing.

The crew and I run out to greet them.

Unfortunately it’s cold and windy. We look up at the blue sky lightly veiled with a few thin, white clouds.

“At least it doesn’t look like rain,” I say, trying to see the bright side.

Gil goes into their Casita, comes out, and hands me a present. It looks like a wall hanging or a rug, tan with yellow and white accents.

“Do you know what that’s made of?” he asks with a grin.

I study it for a moment.

“Plastic bags?” I reply.

Turns out Gil has learned how to crochet plastic bags. I thank him for the gift. It’s a pretty neat item!

Here’s their rig in their campsite which is up the lane from ours.

This next photo shows the view from their campsite.

Pretty nice, heh?

Update on Dale . . .

Dale realizes he isn’t well prepared for desert travel with the water container he has. I give him two of my one-gallon jugs so he can carry more. Which presents the problem . . .

How to carry full jugs of water on his bike.

His sleeping bag, mat, tarp, tent, and backpack packed with clothes, food, and supplies — all go above the rear wheel. I give him one of my milk crates. Later I return to Dale’s camp and he’s attached the milk crate to the handle bars, making a handy basket in which to carry his water supply and other items. It’s perfect!

By evening an Arizona cold snap has arrived.

Dale makes a campfire for me and the crew. This is his last night at Mittry Lake.

As I am gratefully sitting in my WARM house, sleet and freezing rain is falling outside here in Plano, just northeast of Dallas. The whole DFW area is under a winter storm warning that merits Jim Cantore of the Weather Channel. For those of you who watch the Weather Channel, you know it’s bad when Cantore shows up. The temp isn’t supposed to get above freezing until maybe Monday. The saddest part is that they cancelled the Children’s Medical Center Christmas Parade on Saturday for the first time in it’s 26 year history but sub freezing temps and icy streets just aren’t safe for a parade. The Dallas Marathon is currently still scheduled for Sunday but who knows.

Sue, this is a great post and the suspense is killing me 🙂 Seriously, it’s sweet to see how Bridget has taken to Dale. He must be an exceptionally nice guy (of course he is, or you wouldn’t be hanging out with him). I wish him well on his journey and look forward to your next post.

It’s too bad some inconsiderate people spoiled your visit to Mittry Lake. The more I camp in free places, the more I realize that any place can be (and sometimes is) ruined for camping by self-centered jerks.

I haven’t had any problems with dust. There is a group of about seven dune buggies that goes by once in a while. They go by, rather than circle around and around, making ruts and dust clouds, like some do, so they haven’t been obnoxious.

Good for you. I think it was because we were there during “Spring Break”. This is one lesson learned: Never go near an area that is popular during Spring Break or other public holidays. The crowds are nuts!

Puppy love is so hard to get over. We are set up for a big winter storm here in the Ouachita Mountains. Do not mind snow, but this is supposed to be an ice storm. Stay warm Sue, stay away from this cold weather if you can.

I don’t like to show faces on my blog. I try to keep my own off it, too. The internet is pervasive and forever… You never know the ramifications of posting someone’s face. I figured the one of Dale by the fire is okay because in that photo he looks like any number of men. Rusty said it was okay for me to post his face.

From what I hear on the news and from readers here in comments, the crew and I are doing okay re: weather. Some frigid temps all over … East coast, west coast, and in between, doesn’t matter… It’s cold!

Hi Sue it’s me again, I have a few questions if you don’t mind:
1. I am amazed at how you find all the free BLM land, is there a book listing all those areas?
2. If you stay on the areas that are unpaved…what happens if it were to rain? I hope to get a small class A and I would be concerned about getting stuck out in the boonies, is this a needless concern?
I love the idea about boondocking, my brother just told he thinks I am a loner ( he’s not happy). Oh well, my mother who is now 86 told me when I was kid I would always threaten to run away and “Live in a cave as a hermit”, grow a long beard and let rats nest in it( I had rats as pets, I was a strange kid).
Thanks,
Roger

I rely almost completely on my Benchmark Atlases. They really do give me enough information (not trying to make a sale saying that!), now that I’ve had some experience boondocking. I used to research a place online AFTER I found a possibility on my Benchmark. I don’t do that so much any more.

It takes a while to get all you can from the maps. Reading the maps and then going to the actual places, you get better at finding good boondocks. I still do find boondocks from “word of mouth” — friends, fellow RVers, and the locals.

Question #2: Funny thing is, we hardly ever see rain! To answer your question . . . It’s not a “needless concern.” First off, I try not to make camp in a depression, a place where water will collect or seep to. My first year living on the road, I camped in a spot that was questionable. I could see that a previous rain formed a lot of mud that subsequently hardened. So when it looked like rain was coming again, I moved the BLT to higher and firmer ground. This was at Ash Fork, Arizona. Rusty helped me find a better camp. As it turned out, it didn’t rain — It snowed!

Where I’m camped at the moment here at Mittry Lake could become muddy, but it would take a lot of rain for that to happen. I’d move before it got bad. And I have my all-terrain tires to help! 🙂

Of course the physics of the PTV pulling the BLT are different than the physics of a Class C, but common sense and caution should be sufficient.

Hi,
Still enjoying your blog very much. Haven’t posted in awhile kind of bummed had hoped to be on the road to warmer climates myself this fall but some health issues set me back. I’m shooting for next summer or as soon as the house sells. It was -9 degrees here last night (eastern Oregon) way colder than usual.
Stay warm
CL

Boy that picture of Bridget sitting with Dale and looking at you says it all! Priceless for sure. And poor clueless Spike. Funny, funny post – just what I needed today. There’s an ice storm coming in Texas and I think I might be house-bound for a few days. Got enough reading material and/or other projects to pass the time.

The people in North Dakota are used to it. When you grow up with it, it is just the way it is… and you deal with it. I personally hated the cold and snow, and was thrilled when I could finally leave after college graduation in 1970… swore I’d never go back. But, when the parents need help and you’re an only child, back you go. After two winters, I bought an RV and escaped for a few months. Dad had died and Mom lived in a condo where plenty of people watched over her for me while I was gone. Now Mom is in full care, and I can go south for 6 months. Actually ice storms aren’t that common up there… it is too cold for most of the winter, so it falls as snow… and the wind blows it away.

And here I thought Bridget and Spike were brother and sister…at first I was wondering what kinda family you were running there RV-Sue! (lol). Hope it isn’t too cold down there, it is freezing up here in Sacramento area…another 3 weeks or so and we head south ourselves. –Dave

Loved your post today. I’m west of Sacramento, near Willits, CA and right now at 10pm Thursday it is 25 degrees. It got down to 21 last night and froze my house water pipes. Just 8 days ago I bought my class c and it is the shop right now and mom(86 years old) and I hope to be out of here by early January. Wish we were already gone.
Love your pictures and story of Bridget in love.

I’m typing this the following morning after watching Dave pedal away. This cold weather has me wondering how he’s doing. He didn’t have a coat so I gave him mine. It’s not an expensive coat, yet it is very warm and has a hood on it. I’m glad he has it. He almost didn’t accept it.

Wherever he spends his nights, he will build a campfire like the one in the photo you like.

I feel the same way, Connie. I did what I could. There’s a point at which you have to let a person do what they’re determined to do. At 55 years of age, he’s his own person. It is hard not to worry though, as cold as it is at night.

Do not drive in the way I did. In other words, do not take the Imperial Dam Road from Hwy 95. It is easier (and less dirt road) to drive north out of Yuma from Hwy 95 (16th St) or from Interstate 8.

Take Laguna Dam Road (paved). It goes through cultivated fields and thus, at one point, it makes a sharp turn (no problem) around the corner of a field. After about 6 miles or so, it becomes a dirt road which may be washboard or it may be nice and smooth, depending upon when it was last scraped. Heavy rains will make it muddy, of course, with standing water across the road. Slim chance of that in Feb.

When you get to the lake, campsites appear along the shore on your left and there are at least three sites where your rig will fit nicely. When you get to the Day Use Area, you are at the end of the campsites and there’s room to turn around and go back.

If the shoreline sites are taken or you want to be further away from the road, take the loop road off to the right (as you approach from Yuma) that goes up a small hill (not really a hill… a higher area). There’s a large, flat parking area up there which I showed in a photo in a recent post. You can see big rigs in the photo.

Important: Be sure to get on the loop road when it first appears. You would have a hard time going up from the other end. That part of the road is in bad shape.

People go up and down the “hill” from the first entrance, rather than continuing on the loop. (I’d like to use east, west, north, south… but I’m not sure of those directions.) Just remember it’s the first dirt road to the right when you get to the lake, as you come in from Laguna Dam Rd.

Eddie… reminds me of the Jack Russell in that Fraser TV show. I think Bridget is … well, let’s wait for the next episode. 🙂

I sure hope Dale finds nothing but warmer weather and smooth highways on his travels this winter! Bridget really bonded with him! WoW! Radar is such a love sponge! He bonds with everybody like only a love starved canine can! LOL! Keep warm Sue! Having a heat wave in Bradenton FL, 83 today and sunny! But soon that storm will affect our temps too! 🙁

Gil won’t mind—he’s too excited about fishing. Just got the port-a-bote in the water. He’s been waiting for this since we left home in Oct. The rug was made by Gil’s sister (saw them over Thanksgiving). She taught him how to crochet!!! And now he is making one.

Oh Bridget, how’s the broken heart since Dale left? Love reading about your adventures.
I notice we are getting closer to that million hits mark. You have a lot of devoted readers, me included. Hug the crew from another devoted dog lover.

Hi Sue….Looks like Bridget did get attached to Dale. I believe animals do detect kindness in humans. I don’t trust anyone the animals don’t like. It’s cool here 30 when I woke today. I have all our plants covered. Thanks for all you did for Dale. It will come back to you somehow. Stay warm.

Bridget is very sensitive to feelings. She reads my moods all the time.

Dale suffered the loss of his mother and lifelong friend recently, so he is grieving. I think Bridget picked up on that and wanted to comfort him. Sure, I might be reading too much into it. However, I’m with these two nutcakes of mine, 24/7, which means we know each other pretty well.

Hi Sue, great post…it was a perfect start to my Friday am. This week at my work was one of the most stressful ever, then this am I got to sleep in, see fresh dusting of snow (first of the season in portland, or) and read your delightful post! Thank you Sue, happy Friday.

Well if Dale has any heart at all I’m sure it will hurt a little also.. I am a large man 300+ and my heart belongs to a 3.5# minpin named Darcy.. I worry about her more than my grandbabes. She like me getting old, 14, and I dread the day we have to part. But it’s strange how something so small can come into your life and completely control it..I bought my first motorhome because of her.. Most motels won’t let you take a pet in. The first time I took her into a motel room she decided she wanted to learn to bark! Well about a month later I bought my first motorhome. Ever since then everything revolves around this little girl…Pretty sappy hey. I’ve told you in past post how I wasn’t crazy about that desert life out there. Well today a would take about two weeks of it. It is snowing to beat the band here in Arkansas after dumping freezing rain all last night…I can’t wait till summer or when I have my affairs in order here so I can head south!! Be safe..Ron

I have to chuckle at your tiny min pin being the center of the life of a 300+ lb. man. Shows you have a big heart to match your frame. Not sappy at all… You have someone deserving of your affection. Love is never wasted on dogs.

Yeah, the desert looks pretty good these days. Be careful on the roads in freezing rain . . . Hope it passes soon.

I so wish we were there with you and kgdans but we won’t be getting out of here until after the first. We hope to meet up with Kathy and Gil and they can tell us all about meeting you. It is about 15 degrees this morning near Fresno and the furnace in the fifth wheel has been running none stop. I guess its time to do some heavy baking to warm things up. Snow tomorrow is forecast.

Hi Sue, Great post. It was a wonderful post to the end of an uneventful week after all the festivities of Thanksgiving…Love the picture of Bridget looking back at you as if she has something you don’t. Spike just wants to nap…none of that girly stuff for him..Stay warm, it is even cold here in So. Cal… Getting closer to buying my Class A so I can be out there with ya’ll (but not too close) lol. Safe travels Sue, thanks for making my mornings.

Oh sweet Bridget……….so loved this post about her short but beautiful love affair! I wish for Dale safe travels………..he has been a great companion to you and the crew for the time you have been in camp. That must be the best thing about your life……….meeting so many nice people along the way!

Yes, Bridget’s “short but beautiful love affair” is over. I hope you are enjoying summer in your hemisphere, because the States are being slammed with cold, snow, freezing rain, and all that winter can bring. The crew and I happen to be holed up in a relatively warm corner of Arizona.

I really laughed at Bridget expression she looked so coy sitting next to Dale……spike better start paying more attention…… Stay warm it’s pretty chilly out there, but sometimes it just nice to stay in, stay snug and read a good book.

The world wide weather patterns are changing because of the Sun Cycle we are in. The Sun has gone berzerk and is changing from a hydrogen to a helium sun. The sun gets hotter and bombards us with rays scientists know nothing about. This causes the undersea volcanoes to go off heating the oceans and this melts the ice. The new bread basket of the world will be in Saskatchewan as Mother Earth moves and new poles are created. Hang on tight as we are in for a terrific ride.

It wasn’t a big sacrifice for me to give Dale my coat. I have another one. I wanted him to have it because he didn’t have anything with a hood on it. Plus he didn’t have anything that would keep out the wind and damp. All his tops were like sweatshirts. That coat I gave him does a good job holding in body heat. Sleeping on the ground in this cold weather, even with a tent and ground mat, is tough without the right clothing.

Hi Sue Was reading another blog me and my dog at http://dewelldesigns.blogspot.com and came across this chapter below,
I do not ever remember you telling your readers about this, and I myself
Have purchased a couple of small item”s but I went to Amazon first. Sure
Hope that you received your % for them…
FROM ME AND MY DOG
I want to thank all my readers who have used my link through to Amazon.com to wander around, see what’s available, check prices, etc., then make your purchases. I finally figured out why I wasn’t getting credit for my daughter’s purchases. I asked her in an e-mail: “Did you find your item, then go back through my link to make your purchase?” The answer was yes, and that is why I wasn’t getting the credit. We can’t blame Amazon for not giving me or another blogger credit for a purchase that started out on Amazon’s site. Bloggers get a small percentage of sales that start out with our site’s links. I’m not suggesting or advising what you should do, but a little information is a good thing – especially if we are looking for something we saw or read about on a blogger’s site. But now I know and I wanted you to know, too. 🙂

Hope you know about this and I‘m just not recalling reading about it in your blog
Safe Travels

I think the blogger is referring to cookies. Amazon “remembers” what portal is used to enter its site for 24 hours and that’s where the credit goes. In other words, if a reader enters Amazon through one of my links and then leaves, any Amazon purchase made within 24 gives me credit.

Actually, Amazon prohibits its Associates from getting credit for purchases by family. I found it’s difficult not to because of what I explained in the first paragraph. However, if Amazon’s robot figures out who is family, the purchase by family will not be credited to the Associate.

Stumbled upon your blog and enjoying it. We have a friend with a 13-foot Scamp that she uses mostly as a place to sleep when she is working away from home. Cute little trailer that can be towed by practically anything and is, at least, water tight; if not roomy.

Dale sounds like a pretty decent guy if Bridget took a liking to him.

After the “Lone Pine” reports I decided to follow you more closely since the SW from NM to the deserts of CA are where I always liked to roam. We live in the desert of WA state (and, yes, half of the state is a desert with sagebrush and rattlesnakes despite it’s “evergreen state” motto) and love rimrock and quiet places.

We do not RV in a small travel trailer any more (our ’70s 21′ Streamline is up for sale) and have moved to a newer ’93 diesel pusher towing a Jeep but it’s only because I have always wanted a comfortable place to sit down and read. 😀

Keep up the reports. In two years (when *my* RV Sue retires) we’ll be down there in the winter.

I welcome you both to my blog! I’m glad you stumbled upon it and found something of interest in it.

Ever since I wrote about eastern Washington, I’ve felt guilty about that post. I wrote as if there’s nothing of value there, which is out of character for me. I usually appreciate any and all landscapes and find beauty and value in them. I guess I was tired from the heat with no A/C and the long drive from east of C’Oeur d’Alene to Yakima.

Since that time I read Zane Gray’s “Desert of Wheat” and through his writing was able to “see” that area for the first time, not just glancing at it from the interstate.

I recommend that book for you to read in your comfortable rig, if you haven’t already. Nice to hear from you!

Comments are closed.

Meet the canine crew!

Roger (left) and Reggie (right)

What is the BLT?

The BLT is what I consider the Best Little Trailer, a 2011 17-foot Casita Liberty Deluxe which is the full-time home for me and my crew.

What is the PTV?

The PTV is the Perfect Tow Vehicle. It's a 2005 Chevy Express Van with a V-8, 5.3 liter engine and equipped with a 200-watt solar panel on the roof and two AGM batteries inside.

What is a blogorino?

A blogorino is a reader who opens up the comment section of this blog and writes a message. Blogorinos are kind and friendly and fun to know!